Sundance is fast approaching, and this year’s World Cinema Documentary Competition will prove to be enlightening. One of this year’s entries is GAZA. The documentary promises to introduce the audience to the surprising, unexpected and unfamiliar stories that are reflective of this Palestinian territory. It will show to the world the extraordinary stories of everyday characters leading ordinary lives.

Though the people of GAZA are plagued by conflict, directors Garry Keane (The Deafening, The Writing in the Sky) and Award-winning conflict photographer Andrew McConnell aim to provide an understanding of what the citizens’ everyday lives are like:

“On behalf of my co-director colleague Andrew McConnell and I, it is a huge honor for our film GAZA to be selected for the Sundance Film Festival 2019 in the World Cinema Documentary Competition. This is not only a professional Everest for us both, but even more so, it is a clear testament to the resilience and bravery of our contributors who have shared their lives with us in this beautiful and much misunderstood place. It is a privilege to have spent time with them and to have had the chance to bring their stories of hope and survival in one of the most unique places on earth to the world’s most prestigious documentary festival”
-Co-director Garry Keane

Per the official film synopsis:

It’s hard to imagine anybody living a normal life in the Gaza strip. Frequently labeled as the world’s largest open-air prison, it makes an appearance on news reports every time a confrontation erupts between Israel and Hamas. From TV sets thousands of miles away, this tiny piece of land has been reduced to an image of violence, chaos and destruction.  So what do the people do when they’re not under siege?

The Gaza, which is seldom seen, is ordinary, everyday Gaza, a coastal strip which measures just twenty-five miles by six and which is home to an eclectic mix of almost two million people. Gaza cannot be understood in a purely political context or by analyzing tragic sound bites during conflict. It can only be understood by immersion, by living among its people and by recognizing and exploring its rich social diversity and cultural subtleties.

The documentary will have its world premiere on Tuesday, January 29th at the Sundance Film Festival in Park City, UT. For more information, see the Sundance site here.

Official Trailer:

Official Movie Poster: